Hair Dye Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

Photo from @diaryofaditi on Pinterest

It’s no secret that hair can oftentimes be a means of self-expression. For some, this might be in the form of keeping it entirely natural and for others, a haircut once in a while will do — drastic or not. Some others might, instead, see the color of their hair as what describes them best.

Come peak quarantine time, we’d all found ourselves dabbling in the dangerous art that is box dye. Let’s just say … for some, it turned out better than for others. You might not have actually gone through with it, but chances are, there’d been some consideration. The odds of anyone, ill-informed and hasty as we were, having gotten it right were low. Quite honestly, they still might be. At its core, this is because the same rules don’t apply to all of us — with all the different textures, densities, thicknesses and pre-existing colors in our hair. Without the right information, dyeing your hair can be like a game of chance.

Here’s VALLEY’s breakdown of how to … well, potentially get it right the next time you’re hunched over a sink with bleach in your hair.

What “Level” Does Your Hair Color Fall Under?
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The level of your hair — natural or previously dyed, is the darkness of its color. In a traditional Hair Level chart, Level 1 is black, while Level 10 is white or platinum. Your hair level, together with the undertone of your hair, gives you an idea of how your hair needs to be treated for the color you want. This can be done by referring to a hair level chart online, a resource that is readily available on the internet, regardless of whether you’re a hairstylist.

This is usually the first, most important step to figuring out how you should treat your hair. Not only that, but your hair’s undertone could even determine the hair colors that are best suited to your skin. This, however, is quite subjective.

Choosing a Hair Color
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If the color you’re starting out with is on the lighter side, chances are, you have it a little easier. For those with darker hair, any color that isn’t black, brown, or a darker shade of red, is unlikely to show up without bleaching it. Most vibrant colors, like blue or pink would require bleaching it to first strip the pre-existing color down to a blonde or platinum. This seems fine, if only tedious, but it’s important to remember that bleach can considerably damage hair if not used carefully. Even if it is used cautiously, it can cause hair to deteriorate.

So, the next question to ask yourself would be — will I need to bleach my hair to achieve the color I want?

Bleaching Your Hair
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Bleaching hair is not the easiest part of dyeing your hair, by any means. But it can be done without going to the hairstylist. As we mentioned earlier, bleaching hair should always be done with caution. Traditionally, to bleach your hair, you’d need three main products — a powder or liquid lightener, a developer, and a toner. Within that, the developer comes in different volumes, with the standard levels being 10, 20, 30, and 40.

The steps to actually bleach your hair are pretty basic. Mix the lightener and developer together, use a brush or a gloved hand to apply it on the desired area, and wait for some time before washing it off. However, your hair texture and type can be what complicates things.

Hair Types and Textures
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When we talk about texture in the context of hair, it is the diameter of the strand of hair. Fine textured hair has a smaller diameter, while coarse hair has a larger one. If you used the same hair color or the same amount of bleach on both types of textures, all while leaving it in for the exact same time, the fine textured hair would react faster than the coarse.

If you were to bleach it, you’d want to use a 30 or 40-volume developer for coarse hair. For fine hair, instead, it’d be a 10 or 20. Additionally, you’d want to leave the bleach in longer for coarse hair than for finer hair. The issue is, though, that leaving bleach in for too long can cause hair to burn off. So, if you were to go from having Level 1 hair to Level 10 hair using bleach, you’d have to do so over the period of a few days, with multiple rounds of bleach.

While this guide can’t be all-encompassing, given the diversity in our hair, it should give anyone looking to shake things up with their hair a rundown of what to look out for.

Do you like to experiment with hair color? Let us know by tagging us @VALLEYmag on Twitter or Instagram!

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